Scouts Grade: 91View by:Player | NCAA School | Position | NFL Team | Flag | All Ranked Players | NFL Draft History You are signed into Insider and have access to the exclusive draft content below. Strengths: Is quicker than fast. Moves well laterally and when coming forward. He is instinctive and his technique is outstanding. He plays with leverage and shows very good balance and body control. Is quicker than fast. Takes excellent angles in pursuit and is a reliable, powerful tackler. Really has a nose for the football. Is disciplined and will execute his assignments. He shows good recognition skills and won't take too many false steps. He shows adequate-to-good range in underneath zone coverage. Gets good jumps on the ball and also shows good ball skills when in position to make a play. He has developed his array of pass rush moves and is relentless in pursuit of the QB. He has spent some time with his hand down as an edge rusher on obvious passing downs. He is a hard worker on and off the field. Intelligent player and good student. High character person with elite overall intangibles.

Weaknesses: Is an elite prospect but lacks elite top-end speed and ideal size. While he possesses adequate size as a MLB or WLB, he lacks ideal height and bulk for an SLB and will struggle to stack at the LOS vs. taller, bigger TE's in the NFL. Will need to improve his overall strength. A better fit size-wise at WLB in the NFL, but lacks ideal top-end speed at that position. Will have some trouble when forced to turn and run vs. faster RB's one-on-one. Had some minor injuries during career at Alabama, including both hamstrings in spring of 2005.

Overall: Ryans played a reserve role as a true freshman in 2002. He finished with a team-high 126 total tackles as a sophomore in 2003. He also set the school's single-game record versus Arkansas with 25 total tackles that season. As a junior in 2004, he finished with 78 tackles and seven tackles for loss. Ryans started all 12 games as a senior in 2005 and finished with 76 tackles, 12 TFL, five sacks and one interception. He finished his career at Alabama with 37 starts and was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2005. Ryans was a four-time All-Academic SEC selection and was also a recipient of the prestigious NCAA Top VIII award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in athletics, scholarship and community service and is given each year to a total of eight student-athletes from Division I, II and III. Ryans is an experienced, intelligent and versatile linebacker prospect that improved with each season of experience and finished with his best season as a senior in 2005. While Ryans spent most of his time in college at the SLB position, he showed the versatility to play all three LB positions. We think his best fit will be at WLB in the NFL. Ryans lacks elite speed and he will need to improve his bulk and strength in order to match up better in the NFL. However, he plays the game with outstanding technique and instincts. He is quick, aggressive, tough and active versus the run. He shows outstanding tackling skills and he has developed into a solid contributor in the passing game both as a pass rusher and in coverage. Ryans has the physical tools to develop into a playmaking fulltime starter in the NFL and he is polished enough to contribute immediately as a rookie. Ryans should be one of the top-five linebackers selected in the 2006 draft most likely late in the first round.

__________________"It's nice to be important, but its more important to be nice."- Scooter

"I feel like Dirtbag has been slowly and methodically trolling the board for a month or so now."
- FRPLG

Scouts Grade: 73View by:Player | NCAA School | Position | NFL Team | Flag | All Ranked Players | NFL Draft History You are signed into Insider and have access to the exclusive draft content below. Strengths: One of the fastest linebackers in this year's class. A fluid athlete. Has excellent range in run support. Pursues hard, takes good angles and closes quickly. He hits a lot harder than his small frame would indicate. He has great power in his hips and upper body. Is a solid wrap up tackler in space. Has become a legitimate pass-rushing weapon. Has great instincts and closing burst when turned loose on the blitz. Also does a good job of using double moves to stay off of blocks. He continues to improve in coverage and the has fluidity and speed to match up in the NFL. He also shows decent ball skills. Has great experience and has been extremely productive in the past on special teams.

Weaknesses: Is undersized. Lacks ideal bulk and lower body strength. Gets washed out too easily in the phone booth. Needs to improve his base and continue to get bigger. He has to be on the move to be effective vs. the run. He still has room to improve in terms of his ability to take on and disengage from blocks. He also needs to improve his recognition skills and consistency in coverage. Is a much better pass rusher than cover guy at this point. A late-bloomer who will need time to develop physically in the NFL.

Overall: He redshirted in 2001 and was a part-time starter throughout his true freshman season in 2002 and sophomore season in 2003. As a junior in 2004, he started all 11 games and finished with 62 tackles, 10 sacks, 14.5 tackles for loss, one interception and three forced fumbles. He has started 16 games in his three-year career and was named Second-Team All-Pac-10 as a junior in 2004. Alston started all 11 games as a senior in 2005 and finished with 52 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 6.5 sacks and one interception. He was named honorable mention All-Pac-10 as a senior. Alston has always had good athleticism and speed but he struggled to overcome his lack of ideal size and strength early in his career. He finally had a breakout season as a junior in 2004 and he continued to play at a very high level as a senior in 2005. Alston is a bit of a 'tweener WLB/SS prospect but we think his best fit would be as a WLB in a scheme that emphasizes speed over size (ie Colts and Buccaneers). He will need time to develop physically before he's ready to compete for a consistent role on defense in the NFL, but he is an excellent special teams player and can contribute in that facet early in his pro career. If Alston is not taken late in the third round, he will be a great value early on the second day of the 2006 draft.

__________________"It's nice to be important, but its more important to be nice."- Scooter

"I feel like Dirtbag has been slowly and methodically trolling the board for a month or so now."
- FRPLG